Ryan Ray, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayJanuary 28, 2015

Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner was the first elected official to take the podium at the 2015 Associated Press Legislative Planning Session, and she wasted little time making hay out of Gov. Rick Scott‘s recent issues with appearing to overreach its boundaries. “Hubris appears to be the organizing principle of our executive branch,” said Joyner, the […]

Ryan RayJanuary 28, 2015

Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential exploratory efforts have been long on the money, but short on the pyrotechnics. Peter Hamby writes that this is no accident; this is the way Jeb prefers it. After taking the political world by surprise in early January with the formation of a shiny new political committee, Bush has largely receded […]

Ryan RayJanuary 27, 2015

As mental health becomes an increasingly prominent issue in child welfare and especially following acts of public violence, discussion by Florida lawmakers has not kept pace. Florida’s famous “Baker Act” — formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 — which allows for involuntary commitment to a medical institution in some cases hasn’t been […]

Ryan RayJanuary 27, 2015

As mental health becomes an increasingly prominent issue in child welfare and especially following acts of public violence, discussion by Florida lawmakers has not kept pace. Florida’s famous “Baker Act” — formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 — which allows for involuntary commitment to a medical institution in some cases hasn’t been […]

Ryan RayJanuary 27, 2015

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Though the special elections to fill the vacancies left by John Thrasher‘s exit from the Florida Senate are a lower-key affair than the usual hullabaloo surrounding big general elections, there will still be a handful of election watch parties to attend throughout the First Coast. State Senate District 6 candidate and former state Rep. Travis Hutson‘s […]

Ryan RayJanuary 27, 2015

Though the special elections to fill the vacancies left by John Thrasher‘s exit from the Florida Senate are a lower-key affair than the usual hullabaloo surrounding big general elections, there will still be a handful of election watch parties to attend throughout the First Coast. State Senate District 6 candidate and former state Rep. Travis Hutson‘s […]

Ryan RayJanuary 27, 2015

Gwen Graham is on a roll in terms of landing choice committee spots. Having already nabbed a seat on the coveted Armed Services Committee, she announced today that she’ll also serve on the Agriculture Committee. Graham told SaintPetersBlog on Saturday that the assignments were her top two choices, a rare coup for a freshman representative in […]

Ryan RayJanuary 26, 2015

Tracy Pafford has filed for election in a bid to succeed her term-limited husband, House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, in West Palm-based House District 86. The 46-year-old Palm Beach native joins Wellington hopefuls Stuart Mears, a Republican, and Democrat Matt Willhite, who have also announced their intentions to run. Her decision comes as her husband […]

Ryan RayJanuary 25, 2015

The Citrus Commission, the board of directors for the Florida Department of Citrus, is mulling a move to cede all or most of its powers to a federal citrus marketing program, writes Kevin Bouffard in the Daily Commercial. As the bacterial disease citrus greening continues to reduce the annual crop along with the commission’s tax base, many around […]

Ryan RayJanuary 25, 2015

David Margolick from Vanity Fair recently revisited some earlier work he’d done on Jeb Bush’s days as a difficult-to-pigeonhole tennis team captain and small time rum-runner back at Phillips Academy Andover, the prestigious Massachusetts boarding school that the patrician — yet Texan — future Florida governor called home from 1967 to 1971: “There was a kind of arrogance to […]

Ryan Ray
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Arthenia Joyner rips Scott administration’s ‘hubris’ at APFL conference

The invisible man: Jeb Bush haunts 2016 field

Joe Abruzzo, Lori Berman file 'Baker Act' reform bill

Joe Abruzzo, Lori Berman file ‘Baker Act’ reform bill

A rundown of where today's candidates will be on Election Night

A rundown of where today’s candidates will be on Election Night

Gwen Graham to serve on House Agriculture Committee

Tracy Pafford files to succeed husband Mark in House District 86

Huh? Citrus Commission explores its own end

Interesting read — Jeb Bush, prep school rebel